Page 49 of More With You

He begins to make his way down the steps, while my feet shuffle backward. The water isn’t too far. Sure, it’s probably filled with all kinds of nasty critters, looking for a feast, but if Levi comes too close for comfort, I’ll make a run for it and dive headfirst into that terrifying unknown.

“I didn’t like the way we left things the other night,” he says, pausing a few paces from the raised end of my rake. “You might not believe it, but I’m the only one looking out for you. I’m trying to stop you from making a mistake.”

My hackles rise. “Haven’t we had this conversation before? You should probably change the record. It’s getting boring, now.”

“Aren’t you curious about why I’m here but Ben isn’t?” Levi smirks, undeterred.

I shrug. “Not really. Unlike you, he waits for an invitation.”

“I hear you met Grace today.” Levi thumbs his lower lip, as if he’s some kind of irresistible hustler. He clearly doesn’t realize it makes him ooze even more sleaze than usual.

Nevertheless, his words make me pause. How does he know that? I have so many questions, but if I utter a single one, he’ll know he’s got me. I’m not giving him the satisfaction.

“What of it?” I say, instead.

His eyes flare with smug satisfaction, despite my attempt to avoid it. “I hear it’s causing a bit of a mess at Chateau DuCate.” He tuts loudly. “I told you, you don’t belong there. Now, you’ve gone and got a kid involved. Don’t you have any shame?”

“You hear a lot of things.” I hold my nerve. “Are you Mrs. DuCate’s shoulder to cry on, or something? Maybe, you’re her side piece? A pity—I thought she had better taste than that.”

Levi snorts. “You really don’t have any shame, do you? Is that the best you’ve got?” He licks his lips, like a wolf circling. “I guess I shouldn’t have expected more from a gold-digging gutter rat.”

“How long did it take you to come up with that one?” I laugh coldly, feeling a shiver in my chest. He’s an asshole of epic proportions, but I know he’s the voice whispering in Mrs. DuCate’s ear. I hadn’t thought of it before, but what if the DuCates decide to use Grace as a pawn in their game of manipulation chess? They’re powerful. I can’t forget that. If they wanted to poison her against me, I’m sure they could. Or, worse, if they poison Lyndsey against me.

Levi takes a half-step forward and my heart jolts into my throat. “They know you’re trouble, Summer. They’re not going to let their only grandchild anywhere near you. Ben might’ve told you it doesn’t matter, but I promise you, in their world, it does. You don’t stand a chance. If it comes down to Ben making a choice, he won’t pick you.”

“What’s your issue with me? What have I ever done to you?” I lose control of my composure for a moment. It can’t just be Levi’s wounded pride driving this. That’s insane.

He pauses. “You don’t know?”

“Obviously not, or I wouldn’t be asking!” I yell, hoping my voice might carry across the expansive grounds of my landlord’s property. He doesn’t like to bother me, but he might if he thinks I’m in trouble. I don’t have the rich friends that Levi does, but I’ve got an oligarch who tolerates me.

Levi chuckles, fixing a hard gaze on me. “You speak to me as if I’m less than you. You treat me like I’m something on the bottom of your shoe. You scoff at my bets and my money. You disrespect me at every opportunity, even though you are the one beneath me. You don’t know your place, and that bothers me.” He halts for dramatic effect. “You don’t belong, like I keep saying, and I’ll do whatever I have to, to stop you weaseling your way into our world.”

“Our world?”

“Mine and the DuCates.”

The truth, at last. It does nothing to make me feel better. I decided, within the first day of meeting Levi at the casino, that he was an asshole. He is an asshole, but while I can usually temper my disdain with other customers, I wasn’t able to do that with him. I don’t know why, thinking about it now. I’m usually good at pretending to be patient and subservient to even the worst customers who come into the casino, but I couldn’t do it with him. I let him know, immediately, that I thought he was trash. Now, it’s coming back to bite me.

“Are you that starved for validation?” I clear my throat, hoping to keep up the façade. “If you’re so wonderful, you shouldn’t care what I think.”

Levi sniffs. “It’s my job to make sure people like you know where you fit in this world. Think of it as a public service.”

“Sounds like an inferiority complex to me.” I shouldn’t poke the bear, but he poked me first. “The truly wealthy don’t care what people think of them. Then again, you’re not one of the truly wealthy, are you? You’re just someone who hangs around with them, hoping that one of them will throw you a bone. Maybe, you’re jealous, because you want to weasel into one of those families. You want to be a DuCate. You can’t wrap your head around the fact that I’m not interested in that. I’m just interested in Ben. Am I getting warmer?”

Sudden anger twists Levi’s face into a cruel mask. “At least I don’t have to scrape tips together to pay for my sick grandma. I make more in interest than you make in six months. My family is known and respected, which is more than can be said for yours. Who even are you, Summer? You’re nothing. You’re just a slut who caught the eye of a rich guy and saw your chance.”

“I guess I am getting warmer. Sore point?” I smile, my knuckles turning bone white as my hands grip the rake tighter. “I’d rather scrape tips together than take handouts.”

Snapping, he tries to come for me. I jab the rake forward, feeling a little silly, but at least there’s a good two-and-a-half feet between us.

“You’re a bitch,” Levi hisses. He lunges and grabs the rake by the bottom of the pole and wrenches forward, bringing me with it. Everything seems to happen in slow motion, as I fall downward, losing my balance. With a bizarre sense of clarity, I force my knees to bend and put my hands out to brace against the impact.

Then, with all the strength and speed that I can muster, I shove myself upward. I rock back onto my knees and lumber to my feet, before twisting around and running as fast as I can toward the gleam of the water.

“What the—!” I hear Levi shout behind, clearly shocked.

I don’t turn to see what he’ll do next. I keep running, almost losing my footing for a second time as the grass turns swampy underneath me: the ground so saturated that there’s no solidity to it. I half-run, half-fall into the slow-moving water that hides a thousand deadly secrets, and start swimming. I’m a good distance out, terrified that something is going to snag at my legs, when I hear the crunch and splash of footsteps giving chase.

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